U.S. patent number 10,628,085 [Application Number 16/208,241] was granted by the patent office on 2020-04-21 for processing in memory.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Micron Technology, Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is Micron Technology, Inc.. Invention is credited to Timothy P. Finkbeiner, Perry V. Lea.
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United States Patent |
10,628,085 |
Lea , et al. |
April 21, 2020 |
Processing in memory
Abstract
Apparatuses and methods are provided for processing in memory.
An example apparatus comprises a host and a processing in memory
(PIM) capable device coupled to the host via an interface
comprising a sideband channel. The PIM capable device comprises an
array of memory cells coupled to sensing circuitry and is
configured to perform bit vector operations on data stored in the
array, and the host comprises a PIM control component to perform
virtual address resolution for PIM operations prior to providing a
number of corresponding bit vector operations to the PIM capable
device via the sideband channel.
Inventors: |
Lea; Perry V. (Eagle, ID),
Finkbeiner; Timothy P. (Boise, ID) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Micron Technology, Inc. |
Boise |
ID |
US |
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Assignee: |
Micron Technology, Inc. (Boise,
ID)
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Family
ID: |
65435226 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/208,241 |
Filed: |
December 3, 2018 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20190114113 A1 |
Apr 18, 2019 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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15693378 |
Aug 31, 2017 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
3/0659 (20130101); G06F 3/0611 (20130101); G06F
3/0673 (20130101); G06F 15/7821 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
3/06 (20060101); G06F 15/78 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;365/189.011 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
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WO |
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Primary Examiner: Chen; Xiaochun L
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Brooks, Cameron & Huebsch,
PLLC
Parent Case Text
PRIORITY INFORMATION
This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.
15/693,378, filed Aug. 31, 2017, the contents of which are included
herein by reference.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus, comprising: a processing in memory (PIM) capable
device comprising a PIM control component including timing
circuitry and timing management circuitry coupleable to a host via
an interface comprising a sideband channel, wherein the PIM control
component is configured to: receive at least one command selected
from a group of a logical operation command and a composite
operation command via the interface; perform virtual address
resolution for the at least one command for PIM operations; and
provide a number of bit vector operations to the PIM capable device
via the sideband channel subsequent to performance of the virtual
address resolution.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interface further
comprises a control bus separate from the sideband channel and over
which memory commands are provided from the host to the PIM capable
device.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the PIM control component is
coupled to a memory management unit of the host to perform the
virtual address resolution by translating virtual addresses of the
host to physical addresses of the array.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the bit vector
operations comprises a Boolean operation to be performed between
first and second operands stored in the PIM capable device.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the PIM control component
comprises a sequencer configured to receive composite operations
and to send constituent bit vector operations to bit vector
operation circuitry on the PIM capable device.
6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the host is located physically
separate from the PIM capable device.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the host further comprises
control logic including a reduced instructions set computer (RISC)
type controller configured to generate a logical operation
commands, and wherein the logical operation commands include
commands that are different from double data rate (DDR)
commands.
8. An apparatus, comprising: a processing in memory (PIM) control
component comprising timing circuitry and timing management
circuitry, wherein the PIM control component is configured to:
receive at least one command selected from a group of a logical
operation command and a composite operation command via an
interface comprising a sideband channel to enable performance of
bit vector operations, wherein a virtual address associated with
the at least one command has been resolved to a physical address
prior to receipt of the at least one command by the PIM control
component.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the PIM control component is
further configured to perform a data alignment operation on data
stored in the array prior to performance of the bit vector
operations.
10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the PIM control component
resides on a controller of a memory device, and wherein the
controller is further configured to control execution of dynamic
random-access memory (DRAM) commands in addition to the at least
one command, the DRAM commands received via a control bus separate
from the sideband channel.
11. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a host coupled to
the array and the PIM control device, wherein the host includes
circuitry to perform logical to physical address resolution for the
at least one command.
12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the bit vector operation
includes at least one operation selected from the group of a shift
operation and a Boolean operation.
13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the PIM control device is
configured to receive instructions to control timing of operations
for an array of memory cells to a RAS component via the sideband
channel, and wherein the sideband channel is separate from a double
data rate (DDR) channel used to control read and write dynamic
random-access memory (DRAM) commands for the array.
14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the PIM control device
resides on a controller of a memory device coupled to a host, and
wherein the host comprises PIM control components configured to:
perform scalar operations corresponding to bit vector operations
performed on the memory device; and send corresponding composite
operations and/or logical operations to the controller in
association with performing the bit vector operations.
15. A method, comprising: providing a number of bit vector
operations from a host to a PIM capable device coupled thereto via
an interface comprising a sideband channel; receiving at least one
command selected from a group of a logical operation command and a
composite operation command via the interface; and prior to
providing the number of bit vector operations to the PIM capable
device, performing, using a PIM control component coupled to the
PIM capable device and comprising timing circuitry and timing
management circuitry, virtual address resolution for the at least
one command for a number of PIM operations to which the number of
bit vector operations correspond.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the bit vector operations
comprise at least one operation selected from the group of a
Boolean logic operation and a data transfer operation.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the PIM capable device
comprises an array of memory cells, and wherein the method further
comprises receiving, by a row address strobe (RAS) component
coupled to the array, a command to perform a dynamic random-access
memory (DRAM) operation.
18. The method of claim 15, further comprising receiving a command
to perform a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) operation via a
double data rate (DDR) control channel separate from the sideband
channel.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates generally to semiconductor memory
and methods, and more particularly, to apparatuses and methods for
processing in memory.
BACKGROUND
Memory devices are typically provided as internal, semiconductor,
integrated circuits in computers or other computing systems. There
are many different types of memory including volatile and
non-volatile memory. Volatile memory can require power to maintain
its data (e.g., host data, error data, etc.) and includes random
access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static
random access memory (SRAM), synchronous dynamic random access
memory (SDRAM), and thyristor random access memory (TRAM), among
others. Non-volatile memory can provide persistent data by
retaining stored data when not powered and can include NAND flash
memory, NOR flash memory, and resistance variable memory such as
phase change random access memory (PCRAM), resistive random access
memory (RRAM), and magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM),
such as spin torque transfer random access memory (STT RAM), among
others.
Computing systems often include a number of processing resources
(e.g., one or more processors), which may retrieve and execute
instructions and store the results of the executed instructions to
a suitable location. A processing resource (e.g., CPU) can comprise
a number of functional units such as arithmetic logic unit (ALU)
circuitry, floating point unit (FPU) circuitry, and/or a
combinatorial logic block, for example, which can be used to
execute instructions by performing logical operations such as AND,
OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, and XOR, and invert (e.g., inversion) logical
operations on data (e.g., one or more operands). For example,
functional unit circuitry may be used to perform arithmetic
operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and/or
division on operands via a number of logical operations.
A number of components in a computing system may be involved in
providing instructions to the functional unit circuitry for
execution. The instructions may be executed, for instance, by a
processing resource such as a controller and/or host processor.
Data (e.g., the operands on which the instructions will be
executed) may be stored in a memory array that is accessible by the
functional unit circuitry. The instructions and/or data may be
retrieved from the memory array and sequenced and/or buffered
before the functional unit circuitry begins to execute instructions
on the data. Furthermore, as different types of operations may be
executed in one or multiple clock cycles through the functional
unit circuitry, intermediate results of the instructions and/or
data may also be sequenced and/or buffered. A sequence to complete
an operation in one or more clock cycles may be referred to as an
operation cycle. Time consumed to complete an operation cycle costs
in terms of processing and computing performance and power
consumption of a computing device and/or system.
In many instances, the processing resources (e.g., processor and/or
associated functional unit circuitry) may be external to the memory
array, and data is accessed via a bus between the processing
resources and the memory array to execute a set of instructions.
Processing performance may be improved in a processor-in-memory
(PIM) device, in which a processor may be implemented internal
and/or near to a memory (e.g., directly on a same chip as the
memory array).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus in the form of a
computing system including a memory device for processing in memory
in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a portion of a memory
device in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating another portion of a
memory device in accordance with a number of embodiments of the
present disclosure.
FIG. 4 is a logic table illustrating logic operation results
implemented using the circuitry shown in FIG. 3 in accordance with
a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods associated
with processing in memory. In one example embodiment, an example
apparatus comprises a host and a processing in memory (PIM) capable
device coupled to the host via an interface comprising a sideband
channel. The PIM capable device comprises an array of memory cells
coupled to sensing circuitry and is configured to perform bit
vector operations on data stored in the array, and the host
comprises a PIM control component to perform virtual address
resolution for PIM operations prior to providing a number of
corresponding bit vector operations to the PIM capable device via
the sideband channel.
The sensing circuitry includes a sense amplifier and a compute
component. In some embodiments, the apparatus may include a PIM
control device (e.g., bit vector operation circuitry), which may
include timing circuitry and/or timing management circuitry. The
PIM control device may be configured to control timing of
operations for the array and receive logical operation commands to
enable performance of memory operations. In some embodiments, the
PIM control device may be configured to perform arbitration and/or
control the timing of performance of Boolean functions responsive
to receipt of commands from a host.
As used herein, a processing in memory (PIM) capable device refers
to a memory device capable of performing logical operations on data
stored in an array of memory cells using a processing resource
internal to the memory device (e.g., without transferring the data
to an external processing resource such as a host processor). As an
example, a PIM capable device can include a memory array coupled to
sensing circuitry comprising sensing components operable as 1-bit
processing elements (e.g., to perform parallel processing on a per
column basis). A PIM capable device can also perform memory
operations in addition to logical operations performed "in memory,"
which can be referred to as "bit vector operations." As an example,
PIM capable device can comprise a dynamic random access memory
(DRAM) array with memory operations including memory access
operations such as reads (e.g., loads) and writes (e.g., stores),
among other operations that do not involve operating on the data
(e.g., such as by performing a Boolean operation on the data). For
example, a PIM capable device can operate a DRAM array as a
"normal" DRAM array and/or as a PIM DRAM array depending on a type
of program being executed (e.g., by a host), which may include both
memory operations and bit vector operations. For example, bit
vector operations can include logical operations such as Boolean
operations (e.g., AND, OR, XOR, etc.) and transfer operations such
as shifting data values in the array and inverting data values, for
example.
As used herein, a PIM operation can refer to various operations
associated with performing in memory processing utilizing a PIM
capable device. An operation hierarchy can be used to define a PIM
operation. For example, a first (e.g., lowest) level in the
operation hierarchy can include bit vector operations (e.g.,
fundamental logical operations, which may be referred to as
"primitive" operations). A next (e.g., middle) level in the
hierarchy can include composite operations, which comprise multiple
bit vector operations. For instance, composite operations can
include mathematical operations such as adds, multiplies, etc.,
which can comprise a number of logical ANDs, ORs, XORs, shifts,
etc. A third (e.g., highest) level in the hierarchy can include
control flow operations (e.g., looping, branching, etc.) associated
with executing a program whose execution involves performing
processing using a PIM capable device.
As described in more detail herein, PIM operations may be executed
by various components within a system comprising a PIM capable
device. For instance, a first PIM control component (e.g., control
logic, which may be referred to as a "scalar unit"), which can be
located on a host, may execute control flow operations and provide
composite operations to a second PIM control component (e.g., a
sequencer), which can also be located on the host. In a number of
embodiments, the second control component can provide low level bit
vector operations to a PIM control component located on the PIM
capable device (e.g., bit vector timing circuitry), which can then
execute the bit vector operations in memory and return results to
the host. As described further herein, an interface used to
transfer PIM operations between a PIM capable device and a host can
comprise a sideband channel, which can be a bus separate from a
typical memory interface, such as a DDR interface, used to transfer
commands, addresses, and/or data. Also, in a number of embodiments,
providing PIM control components on the host can provide benefits
such as allowing a PIM program to use virtual addressing (e.g., by
resolving virtual addresses on the host since the PIM capable
device may operate only on physical addresses).
Timing circuitry and control logic associated with the memory
device may be in different clock domains and/or operate at
different clock speeds. In at least one embodiment, the timing
circuitry is separate from other control registers, (e.g., double
data rate (DDR) registers), used to control read and write access
requests for the array, (e.g., in a DRAM array).
In the following detailed description of the present disclosure,
reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part
hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration how one or
more embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced. These
embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those of
ordinary skill in the art to practice the embodiments of this
disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may
be utilized and that process, electrical, and/or structural changes
may be made without departing from the scope of the present
disclosure. As used herein, designators such as "N", "M", etc.,
particularly with respect to reference numerals in the drawings,
indicate that a number of the particular feature so designated can
be included. As used herein, "a number of" a particular thing can
refer to one or more of such things (e.g., a number of memory
arrays can refer to one or more memory arrays). A "plurality of" is
intended to refer to more than one of such things.
The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which the first
digit or digits correspond to the drawing figure number and the
remaining digits identify an element or component in the drawing.
Similar elements or components between different figures may be
identified by the use of similar digits. For example, 206 may
reference element "06" in FIG. 2, and a similar element may be
referenced as 306 in FIG. 3. As will be appreciated, elements shown
in the various embodiments herein can be added, exchanged, and/or
eliminated so as to provide a number of additional embodiments of
the present disclosure. In addition, as will be appreciated, the
proportion and the relative scale of the elements provided in the
figures are intended to illustrate certain embodiments of the
present invention, and should not be taken in a limiting sense.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus in the form of a
computing system 100 including a memory device 120 for processing
in memory (e.g., a "PIM capable device") in accordance with a
number of embodiments of the present disclosure. The memory device
120 may be referred to herein as a "PIM capable device" or "PIM
capable memory device." The PIM capable device may comprise an
array of memory cells coupled to sensing circuitry, as described in
more detail, here. As used herein, a memory device 120 for
processing in memory, controller 140, channel controller 143,
memory array 130, and/or sensing circuitry 150 might also be
separately considered an "apparatus."
System 100 includes a host 111 coupled (e.g., connected) to memory
device 120 for processing in memory, which includes a memory array
130. Host 111 can be a host system such as a personal laptop
computer, a desktop computer, a digital camera, a smart phone, or a
memory card reader, among various other types of hosts. Host 111
can include a system motherboard and/or backplane and can include a
number of processing resources (e.g., one or more processors,
microprocessors, or some other type of controlling circuitry). The
system 100 can include separate integrated circuits or both the
host 111 and the memory device 120 for processing in memory can be
part of a same integrated circuit (e.g., on a same chip). The
system 100 can be, for instance, a server system and/or a high
performance computing (HPC) system and/or a portion thereof.
Although the example shown in FIG. 1 illustrates a system having a
Von Neumann architecture, embodiments of the present disclosure can
be implemented in non-Von Neumann architectures, which may not
include one or more components (e.g., CPU, ALU, etc.) often
associated with a Von Neumann architecture.
In some embodiments, the host 111 uses virtual addressing while the
memory device 120 for processing in memory uses physical
addressing. In order to perform PIM operations on the memory device
120 for processing in memory (e.g., in order to perform bit vector
operations using the memory device 120 for processing in memory),
the virtual addresses used by the host 111 must be translated into
corresponding physical addresses, which are used by the memory
device 120 for processing in memory. In some embodiments, a PIM
control component (e.g., control logic 131) and/or memory
management unit (MMU) controller 134 may perform address resolution
to translate the virtual addresses used by the host 111 into the
respective physical addresses used by the memory device 120 for
processing in memory. In some embodiments, the PIM control
component(s) may perform virtual address resolution for PIM
operations prior to providing a number of corresponding bit vector
operations to the memory device 120 (e.g., the PIM capable device)
via the sideband channel 157.
The host 111 may include various components including PIM control
components (e.g., control logic 131, a sequencer 132), a channel
controller 143, and a MMU controller 134. The control logic 131 may
be configured to execute control flow commands associated with an
executing PIM program and to provide composite commands to the
sequencer 132. The control logic 131 may be, or may include, a RISC
type controller configured to generate and issue an extensible set
of composite operation PIM commands that includes commands,
different from DDR commands to the sequencer 132. In some
embodiments, the control logic 131 may be configured to issue
composite operation commands to cause bit vector operations to be
performed on the memory devices 120. In some embodiments, the
composite operation commands may be transferred from the control
logic 131 to the memory device 120 for processing in memory (e.g.,
via sequencer 132 and sideband channel 157). As shown in FIG. 1,
the host 111 (and control logic 131, sequencer 132, and/or MMU
controller 134) may be located physically separate from the memory
device 120 and/or the array 130.
The control logic 131 may, in some embodiments, decode microcode
instructions into function calls, which may be microcode function
calls, associated with performing a bit vector operation,
implemented by the sequencer 132. The microcode function calls can
be the operations that the sequencer 132 receives and/or executes
to cause the memory device 120 for processing in memory to perform
particular bit vector operations using the sensing circuitry, such
as sensing circuitry 150.
As shown in FIG. 1, the control logic 131 and MMU controller 134
are located on the host 111, which may allow for the control logic
131 and/or the MMU controller 134 to access virtual addresses
stored on the host 111 and perform virtual to physical address
resolution on the physical addresses stored on the host 111 prior
to transferring instructions to the memory device 120 for
processing in memory.
As used herein, a "bit vector" can refer to a physically contiguous
number of bits, whether physically contiguous in rows (e.g.,
horizontally oriented) or columns (e.g., vertically oriented). A
"PIM capable device" refers to a memory device configured to
perform bit vector operations such as logical operations and/or
transfer operations on a number of contiguous portions (e.g.,
"chunks") of virtual address space. For example, a chunk of virtual
address space may have a bit length of 256 bits. A chunk may or may
not be contiguous sequentially to other chunks in the virtual
address space.
The MMU controller 134 can reside on the host 111, as shown in FIG.
1. In some embodiments, the MMU controller may be a standard MMU
controller such as an ARM.RTM. CoreLink.RTM. MMU-500 MMU
controller. The MMU controller may be responsible for performing
the translation of virtual memory addresses (e.g., addresses
associated with the host 111) to physical addresses (e.g.,
addresses associated with the memory device 120 for processing in
memory). The MMU controller 134 may also perform memory protection
operations, cache control, and/or bus arbitration operations.
The timing circuitry 133 may provide timing to coordinate
performance of logical operations and be responsible for providing
conflict free access to the arrays, such as array 130 in FIG. 1. In
various embodiments, the controller 140 and/or the timing
management circuitry 135 may generate status information, which may
be transferred to or from host 111, for example via the sideband
channel 157. The sideband channel 157 may be independent of (e.g.,
separate from) a double data rate (DDR) memory interface (e.g.,
control bus 154) that may be used to transfer (e.g., pass) DDR
commands between the host 111 and the memory device 120 for
processing in memory. That is, in some embodiments, the sideband
channel 157 may be used to transfer commands to cause performance
of bit vector operations from the host 111 to the memory device 120
for processing in memory while the control bus 154 is used to
transfer DRAM commands from the host 111 to the memory device 120
for processing in memory. In some embodiments, the DRAM commands
that are transferred via the control bus 154 may be commands to
control operation of DRAM such as DDR1 SDRAM, DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3
SDRAM, and/or DDR4 SDRAM.
In some embodiments, the sequencer 132 may include a very large
instruction word (VLIW) type controller configured to operate on
logical operation commands and the control logic 131 may be
configured to issue the logical operation commands to the sequencer
132 in response to a signal from a processing resource (not shown)
of the host 111. For example, the sequencer may be configured to
sequence multiple logical operations so that composite operation
commands may be issued by the sequencer 132. The control logic 131
may, in some embodiments, be configured to generate a VLIW as a bit
vector operation command(s). The VLIW may comprise microcode
instructions. The sequencer 132 may be, or may include, the VLIW
type controller configured to decode the VLIW into a plurality of
separate microcode instructions. For example, the sequencer 132 may
decode the VLIW into instructions to cause performance of composite
operations (e.g., ADD, MULTIPLY, etc.). In some embodiments, the
composite operation commands may provide an entry point into a
sequence of VLIW instructions to cause perform such composite
operations. The sequencer 132 may be coupled to the memory device
120 for processing in memory and may pass commands to coordinate
bit vector operations to the memory device 120 for processing in
memory via sideband channel 157. The plurality of microcode
instructions may be executable in sequence and/or in parallel by
the sequencer 132 itself and/or by other components in the memory
device 120 for processing in memory, (e.g., the bit vector
operation timing circuitry 139, the timing circuitry 133, timing
management circuitry 135, and/or the sensing circuitry 150).
For clarity, the system 100 has been simplified to focus on
features with particular relevance to the present disclosure. The
memory array 130 can be a DRAM array, SRAM array, STT RAM array,
PCRAM array, TRAM array, RRAM array, NAND flash array, and/or NOR
flash array, for instance. The array 130 can comprise memory cells
arranged in rows coupled by access lines, which may be referred to
herein as word lines or select lines, and columns coupled by sense
lines, which may be referred to herein as data lines or digit
lines. Although a single array 130 is shown in FIG. 1, embodiments
are not so limited. For instance, memory device 120 for processing
in memory may include a number of arrays 130 (e.g., a number of
banks of DRAM cells, NAND flash cells, etc.).
The memory device 120 for processing in memory includes address
circuitry 142 to latch address signals for data provided over a bus
156 (e.g., a data/address bus) through I/O circuitry 144. Status
and/or exception information can be provided from the controller
140 on the memory device 120 for processing in memory to a channel
controller 143, through a high speed interface (HSI) including a
sideband channel 157, which in turn can be provided from the
channel controller 143 to the host 111. Address signals are
received through address circuitry 142 and decoded by a row decoder
146 and a column decoder 152 to access the memory array 130. Data
can be read from memory array 130 by sensing voltage and/or current
changes on the digit lines using sensing circuitry 150. The sensing
circuitry 150 can read and latch a page (e.g., row) of data from
the memory array 130. The I/O circuitry 144 can be used for
bi-directional data communication with host 111 over the bus 156.
The write circuitry 148 can be used to write data to the memory
array 130. In some embodiments, bus 154 may serve as both a control
and address bus for DRAM control and addressing (e.g., in
accordance with a DDR protocol in which bus 154 operates as a
unidirectional data bus). Although shown as separate buses in FIG.
1, in some embodiments, bus 154 and bus 156 may not be separate
buses.
Controller 140 (e.g., memory controller) decodes signals provided
by control bus 154 from the host 111. These signals can include
chip enable signals, write enable signals, and address latch
signals that are used to control DRAM operations performed on the
memory array 130, including data read, data write, and data erase
operations. In various embodiments, the controller 140 is
responsible for executing instructions from the host 111 and
sequencing access to the array 130. The controller 140 can be a
state machine, sequencer, or some other type of controller and
include hardware and/or firmware (e.g., microcode instructions) in
the form of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In a
number of embodiments, the controller 140 may include bit vector
operation timing circuitry 139. The controller 140 can control, for
example, sensing circuitry in accordance with embodiments described
herein. For example, the controller 140 can control generation of
clock signals and application of the clock signals to compute
components in association with performing bit vector
operations.
As shown in FIG. 1, the bit vector operation timing circuitry 139
may include timing circuitry 133 and timing management circuitry
135. The timing circuitry 133 may include a FIFO buffer to provide
timing coordination with the sensing circuitry 150 associated with
the array 130 of memory cells. In some embodiments, the timing
circuitry 133 may be a state machine such as an atomic state
machine.
The control logic 131, sequencer 132, and/or MMU controller 134 may
assist in resolving virtual memory to physical memory decoding
between the host 111 and the RAS 136, array 130, and/or sensing
circuitry 150. For example, in some embodiments, the host 111 may
utilize virtual memory addressing, while the components associated
with the memory device 120 for processing in memory (e.g.,
controller 140, RAS 136, array 130, sensing circuitry 150, etc.)
may utilize physical addressing.
In some embodiments, the sequencer 132 and/or control logic 131 may
be configured to resolve virtual addresses into physical addresses
using a translation lookaside buffer (TLB) and/or a MMU controller
134. These resolved addresses may be passed via the sideband
channel 157 to the controller 140 and/or bit vector operation
timing circuitry 139. The resolved physical addresses may then be
used by the bit vector operation timing circuitry to coordinate
performance of bit vector operations using the array 130 and/or
sensing circuitry 150.
By resolving virtual addresses to physical addresses at the host
111, for example by using the sequencer 132 and/or control logic
131 to resolve virtual addresses to physical addresses, a reliance
on pinning memory at a boot of the computing device 100 may be
alleviated. In addition, in some embodiments, incorrect address
resolutions may be identified and/or corrected by the control logic
131 and/or sequencer 132, which may allow for improved alignment of
data values in the array 130.
The timing management circuitry 135 may be configured to coordinate
timing of logical operations (e.g., a sequence of logical
operations), associated with the bit vector operation, performed
using a row address strobe (RAS) component 136 associated with the
array 130. The RAS component 136 may be configured to send and/or
receive a RAS signal to or from the memory array 130 to identify
and/or select a row address of the array 130. The memory device 120
for processing in memory may, in some embodiments, be configured to
execute a DRAM operation such as a memory array access request,
which may be issued by the host 111 via bus 154. In some
embodiments, the timing management circuitry 135 may be configured
to execute instructions to control timing of performance of a bit
vector operation.
In one or more embodiments, portions of the controller 140, (e.g.,
bit vector operation timing circuitry 139, timing circuitry 133,
and/or timing management circuitry 135), can be a reduced
instruction set computer (RISC) type controller operating on 32
and/or 64 bit length instructions. In various embodiments, the
timing management circuitry 135 is responsible for executing
instructions received from the timing circuitry 133 to cause
performance of bit vector operations involving data values
associated with the sensing circuitry 150.
As described further below, in a number of embodiments, the sensing
circuitry 150 can comprise a plurality of sensing components, which
can each include a sense amplifier and a compute component. The
compute component may serve as an accumulator, and the sensing
circuitry can be used to perform bit vector operations (e.g., on
data associated with complementary digit lines). In a number of
embodiments, the sensing circuitry 150 can be used to perform bit
vector operations using data stored in array 130 as inputs and/or
store the results of the operations back to the array 130 without
transferring data via a digit line address access (e.g., without
firing a column decode signal). For instance, various operations
(e.g., bit vector operations) can be performed using, and within,
sensing circuitry 150 rather than (or in association with) being
performed by processing resources external to the sensing circuitry
(e.g., by a processing resource associated with host 111 and/or
other processing circuitry, such as ALU circuitry, located on
memory device 120 for processing in memory (e.g., on controller 140
or elsewhere)). In a number of embodiments, the sensing circuitry
150 (e.g., the number of sensing components) can be used to execute
bit vector operations in a SIMD (single instruction multiple data)
manner with the sensing components serving as 1-bit processing
elements on a per column basis. In embodiments in which the sensing
circuitry 150 executes bit vector operations, it can serve as
and/or be referred to as an in memory processor.
In various previous approaches, data associated with an operand,
for instance, would be read from memory via sensing circuitry and
provided to external ALU circuitry via I/O lines (e.g., via local
I/O lines and/or global I/O lines). The external ALU circuitry
could include a number of registers and would perform bit vector
operations using the operands, and the result would be transferred
back to the array via the I/O lines. In contrast, in a number of
embodiments of the present disclosure, sensing circuitry 150 is
configured to perform bit vector operations on data stored in
memory array 130 and store the result back to the memory array 130
without enabling an I/O line (e.g., a local I/O line) coupled to
the sensing circuitry 150. The sensing circuitry 150 can be formed
on pitch with the memory cells of the array. For example, a compute
component may conform to a same pitch as adjacent digit lines of
the array such that the compute component and the sense amplifier
obey a particular sense line pitch constraint (e.g., 4F, 6F, etc.,
where "F" is a feature size).
In a number of embodiments, circuitry external to array 130 and
sensing circuitry 150 may not be needed to perform operations as
the sensing circuitry 150 can perform the appropriate bit vector
operations without the use of an external processing resource.
Therefore, the sensing circuitry 150 may be used to compliment
and/or to replace, at least to some extent, such an external
processing resource (or at least the bandwidth consumption of such
an external processing resource).
However, in a number of embodiments, the sensing circuitry 150 may
be used to perform logical operations (e.g., to execute
instructions) in addition to logical operations performed by an
external processing resource (e.g., host 111). For instance, host
111 and/or sensing circuitry 150 may be limited to performing only
certain logical operations and/or a certain number of logical
operations.
Enabling an I/O line can include enabling (e.g., turning on) a
transistor having a gate coupled to a decode signal (e.g., a column
decode signal) and a source/drain coupled to the I/O line. However,
embodiments are not limited to performing logical operations using
sensing circuitry (e.g., 150) without enabling column decode lines
of the array. Whether or not local I/O lines are used in
association with performing logical operations via sensing
circuitry 150, the local I/O line(s) may be enabled in order to
transfer a result to a suitable location other than back to the
array 130 (e.g., to an external register).
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a portion of a memory
device in accordance with a number of embodiments of the present
disclosure. The sensing component 250 represents one of a number of
sensing components that can correspond to sensing circuitry 150
shown in FIG. 1.
In the example shown in FIG. 2, the memory array 230 is a DRAM
array of 1T1C (one transistor one capacitor) memory cells in which
a transistor serves as the access device and a capacitor serves as
the storage element; although other embodiments of configurations
can be used (e.g., 2T2C with two transistors and two capacitors per
memory cell). In this example, a first memory cell comprises
transistor 202-1 and capacitor 203-1, and a second memory cell
comprises transistor 202-2 and capacitor 203-2, etc. In a number of
embodiments, the memory cells may be destructive read memory cells
(e.g., reading the data stored in the cell destroys the data such
that the data originally stored in the cell is refreshed after
being read).
The cells of the memory array 230 can be arranged in rows coupled
by access lines 204-X (Row X), 204-Y (Row Y), etc., and columns
coupled by pairs of complementary sense lines (e.g., digit lines
205-1 labelled DIGIT(n) and 205-2 labelled DIGIT(n) in FIG. 2).
Although only one pair of complementary digit lines are shown in
FIG. 2, embodiments of the present disclosure are not so limited,
and an array of memory cells can include additional columns of
memory cells and digit lines (e.g., 4,096, 8,192, 16,384,
etc.).
Memory cells can be coupled to different digit lines and word
lines. For instance, in this example, a first source/drain region
of transistor 202-1 is coupled to digit line 205-1, a second
source/drain region of transistor 202-1 is coupled to capacitor
203-1, and a gate of transistor 202-1 is coupled to word line
204-Y. A first source/drain region of transistor 202-2 is coupled
to digit line 205-2, a second source/drain region of transistor
202-2 is coupled to capacitor 203-2, and a gate of transistor 202-2
is coupled to word line 204-X. A cell plate, as shown in FIG. 2,
can be coupled to each of capacitors 203-1 and 203-2. The cell
plate can be a common node to which a reference voltage (e.g.,
ground) can be applied in various memory array configurations.
The digit lines 205-1 and 205-2 of memory array 230 are coupled to
sensing component 250 in accordance with a number of embodiments of
the present disclosure. In this example, the sensing component 250
comprises a sense amplifier 206 and a compute component 231
corresponding to a respective column of memory cells (e.g., coupled
to a respective pair of complementary digit lines). The sense
amplifier 206 is coupled to the pair of complementary digit lines
205-1 and 205-2. The compute component 231 is coupled to the sense
amplifier 206 via pass gates 207-1 and 207-2. The gates of the pass
gates 207-1 and 207-2 can be coupled to selection logic 213.
The selection logic 213 can include pass gate logic for controlling
pass gates that couple the pair of complementary digit lines
un-transposed between the sense amplifier 206 and the compute
component 231 and swap gate logic for controlling swap gates that
couple the pair of complementary digit lines transposed between the
sense amplifier 206 and the compute component 231. The selection
logic 213 can be coupled to the pair of complementary digit lines
205-1 and 205-2 and configured to perform logical operations on
data stored in array 230. For instance, the selection logic 213 can
be configured to control continuity of (e.g., turn on/turn off)
pass gates 207-1 and 207-2 based on a selected logical operation
that is being performed.
The sense amplifier 206 can be operated to determine a data value
(e.g., logic state) stored in a selected memory cell. The sense
amplifier 206 can comprise a cross coupled latch 215 (e.g., gates
of a pair of transistors, such as n-channel transistors 227-1 and
227-2 are cross coupled with the gates of another pair of
transistors, such as p-channel transistors 229-1 and 229-2), which
can be referred to herein as a primary latch. However, embodiments
are not limited to this example.
In operation, when a memory cell is being sensed (e.g., read), the
voltage on one of the digit lines 205-1 or 205-2 will be slightly
greater than the voltage on the other one of digit lines 205-1 or
205-2. An ACT signal and an RNL* signal can be driven low to enable
(e.g., fire) the sense amplifier 206. The digit line 205-1 or 205-2
having the lower voltage will turn on one of the transistors 229-1
or 229-2 to a greater extent than the other of transistors 229-1 or
229-2, thereby driving high the digit line 205-1 or 205-2 having
the higher voltage to a greater extent than the other digit line
205-1 or 205-2 is driven high.
Similarly, the digit line 205-1 or 205-2 having the higher voltage
will turn on one of the transistors 227-1 or 227-2 to a greater
extent than the other of the transistors 227-1 or 227-2, thereby
driving low the digit line 205-1 or 205-2 having the lower voltage
to a greater extent than the other digit line 205-1 or 205-2 is
driven low. As a result, after a short delay, the digit line 205-1
or 205-2 having the slightly greater voltage is driven to the
voltage of the supply voltage V.sub.CC through a source transistor,
and the other digit line 205-1 or 205-2 is driven to the voltage of
the reference voltage (e.g., ground) through a sink transistor.
Therefore, the cross coupled transistors 227-1 and 227-2 and
transistors 229-1 and 229-2 serve as a sense amplifier pair, which
amplify the differential voltage on the digit lines 205-1 and 205-2
and operate to latch a data value sensed from the selected memory
cell.
Embodiments are not limited to the sensing component configuration
illustrated in FIG. 2. As an example, the sense amplifier 206 can
be a current-mode sense amplifier and/or a single-ended sense
amplifier (e.g., sense amplifier coupled to one digit line). Also,
embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to a folded
digit line architecture such as that shown in FIG. 2.
As described further below, the sensing component 250 can be one of
a plurality of sensing components selectively coupled to a shared
I/O line. As such, the sensing component 250 can be used in
association with reversing data stored in memory in accordance with
a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.
In this example, the sense amplifier 206 includes equilibration
circuitry 214, which can be configured to equilibrate the digit
lines 205-1 and 205-2. The equilibration circuitry 214 comprises a
transistor 224 coupled between digit lines 205-1 and 205-2. The
equilibration circuitry 214 also comprises transistors 225-1 and
225-2 each having a first source/drain region coupled to an
equilibration voltage (e.g., V.sub.DD/2), where V.sub.DD is a
supply voltage associated with the array. A second source/drain
region of transistor 225-1 is coupled to digit line 205-1, and a
second source/drain region of transistor 225-2 is coupled to digit
line 205-2. Gates of transistors 224, 225-1, and 225-2 can be
coupled together and to an equilibration (EQ) control signal line
226. As such, activating EQ enables the transistors 224, 225-1, and
225-2, which effectively shorts digit lines 205-1 and 205-2
together and to the equilibration voltage (e.g., V.sub.DD/2).
Although FIG. 2 shows sense amplifier 206 comprising the
equilibration circuitry 214, embodiments are not so limited, and
the equilibration circuitry 214 may be implemented discretely from
the sense amplifier 206, implemented in a different configuration
than that shown in FIG. 2, or not implemented at all.
As shown in FIG. 2, the compute component 231 can also comprise a
latch, which can be referred to herein as a secondary latch 264.
The secondary latch 264 can be configured and operated in a manner
similar to that described above with respect to the primary latch
215, with the exception that the pair of cross coupled p-channel
transistors (e.g., PMOS transistors) included in the secondary
latch can have their respective sources coupled to a supply voltage
(e.g., V.sub.DD), and the pair of cross coupled n-channel
transistors (e.g., NMOS transistors) of the secondary latch can
have their respective sources selectively coupled to a reference
voltage (e.g., ground), such that the secondary latch is
continuously enabled. The configuration of the compute component
231 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2, and various other
embodiments are feasible.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating circuitry portion of a
memory device in accordance with a number of embodiments of the
present disclosure. FIG. 3 shows a sense amplifier 306 coupled to a
pair of complementary sense lines 305-1 and 305-2, logical
operation select logic 313, and a compute component 331 coupled to
the sense amplifier 306 via pass gates 307-1 and 307-2. The sense
amplifier 306 shown in FIG. 3 can correspond to sense amplifier 206
shown in FIG. 2. The compute component 331 shown in FIG. 3 can
correspond to sensing circuitry, including compute component, 150
in FIG. 1. The logical operation selection logic 313 shown in FIG.
3 can correspond to logical operation selection logic 213 shown in
FIG. 2. The gates of the pass gates 307-1 and 307-2 can be
controlled by a logical operation selection logic 313 signal,
(e.g., Pass). For example, an output of the logical operation
selection logic 313 can be coupled to the gates of the pass gates
307-1 and 307-2. Further, the compute component 331 can comprise a
loadable shift register configured to shift data values left and
right.
According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the compute
components 331 can comprise respective stages (e.g., shift cells)
of a loadable shift register configured to shift data values left
and right. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, each compute
component 331 (e.g., stage) of the shift register comprises a pair
of right-shift transistors 381 and 386, a pair of left-shift
transistors 389 and 390, and a pair of inverters 387 and 388. The
signals PHASE 1R, PHASE 2R, PHASE 1L, and PHASE 2L can be applied
to respective control lines 382, 383, 391 and 392 to enable/disable
feedback on the latches of the corresponding compute components 331
in association with performing logical operations and/or shifting
data in accordance with embodiments described herein.
The sensing circuitry shown in FIG. 3 shows operation selection
logic 313 coupled to a number of logic selection control input
control lines, including ISO, TF, TT, FT, and FF. Selection of a
logical operation from a plurality of logical operations is
determined from the condition of logic selection control signals on
the logic selection control input lines, as well as the data values
present on the pair of complementary sense lines 305-1 and 305-2
when isolation transistors 350-1 and 350-2 are enabled via an ISO
control signal being asserted.
According to various embodiments, the operation selection logic 313
can include four logic selection transistors: logic selection
transistor 362 coupled between the gates of the swap transistors
342 and a TF signal control line, logic selection transistor 352
coupled between the gates of the pass gates 307-1 and 307-2 and a
TT signal control line, logic selection transistor 354 coupled
between the gates of the pass gates 307-1 and 307-2 and a FT signal
control line, and logic selection transistor 364 coupled between
the gates of the swap transistors 342 and a FF signal control line.
Gates of logic selection transistors 362 and 352 are coupled to the
true sense line through isolation transistor 350-1 (having a gate
coupled to an ISO signal control line). Gates of logic selection
transistors 364 and 354 are coupled to the complementary sense line
through isolation transistor 350-2 (also having a gate coupled to
an ISO signal control line).
Data values present on the pair of complementary sense lines 305-1
and 305-2 can be loaded into the compute component 331 via the pass
gates 307-1 and 307-2. The compute component 331 can comprise a
loadable shift register. When the pass gates 307-1 and 307-2 are
OPEN, data values on the pair of complementary sense lines 305-1
and 305-2 are passed to the compute component 331 and thereby
loaded into the loadable shift register. The data values on the
pair of complementary sense lines 305-1 and 305-2 can be the data
value stored in the sense amplifier 306 when the sense amplifier is
fired. In this example, the logical operation selection logic
signal, Pass, is high to OPEN the pass gates 307-1 and 307-2.
The ISO, TF, TT, FT, and FF control signals can operate to select a
logical function to implement based on the data value ("B") in the
sense amplifier 306 and the data value ("A") in the compute
component 331. In particular, the ISO, TF, TT, FT, and FF control
signals are configured to select the logical function to implement
independent from the data value present on the pair of
complementary sense lines 305-1 and 305-2 (although the result of
the implemented logical operation can be dependent on the data
value present on the pair of complementary sense lines 305-1 and
305-2. For example, the ISO, TF, TT, FT, and FF control signals
select the logical operation to implement directly since the data
value present on the pair of complementary sense lines 305-1 and
305-2 is not passed through logic to operate the gates of the pass
gates 307-1 and 307-2.
Additionally, FIG. 3 shows swap transistors 342 configured to swap
the orientation of the pair of complementary sense lines 305-1 and
305-2 between the sense amplifier 306 and the compute component
331. When the swap transistors 342 are OPEN, data values on the
pair of complementary sense lines 305-1 and 305-2 on the sense
amplifier 306 side of the swap transistors 342 are
oppositely-coupled to the pair of complementary sense lines 305-1
and 305-2 on the compute component 331 side of the swap transistors
342, and thereby loaded into the loadable shift register of the
compute component 331.
The logical operation selection logic 313 signal Pass can be
activated (e.g., high) to OPEN the pass gates 307-1 and 307-2
(e.g., conducting) when the ISO control signal line is activated
and either the TT control signal is activated (e.g., high) with
data value on the true sense line is "1" or the FT control signal
is activated (e.g., high) with the data value on the complement
sense line is "1."
The data value on the true sense line being a "1" OPENs logic
selection transistors 352 and 362. The data value on the
complimentary sense line being a "1" OPENs logic selection
transistors 354 and 364. If the ISO control signal or either the
respective TT/FT control signal or the data value on the
corresponding sense line (e.g., sense line to which the gate of the
particular logic selection transistor is coupled) is not high, then
the pass gates 307-1 and 307-2 will not be OPENed by a particular
logic selection transistor.
The logical operation selection logic signal Pass* can be activated
(e.g., high) to OPEN the swap transistors 342 (e.g., conducting)
when the ISO control signal line is activated and either the TF
control signal is activated (e.g., high) with data value on the
true sense line is "1," or the FF control signal is activated
(e.g., high) with the data value on the complement sense line is
"1." If either the respective control signal or the data value on
the corresponding sense line (e.g., sense line to which the gate of
the particular logic selection transistor is coupled) is not high,
then the swap transistors 342 will not be OPENed by a particular
logic selection transistor.
The Pass* control signal is not necessarily complementary to the
Pass control signal. It is possible for the Pass and Pass* control
signals to both be activated or both be deactivated at the same
time. However, activation of both the Pass and Pass* control
signals at the same time shorts the pair of complementary sense
lines together, which may be a disruptive configuration to be
avoided.
The sensing circuitry illustrated in FIG. 3 is configured to select
one of a plurality of logical operations to implement directly from
the four logic selection control signals (e.g., logical operation
selection is not dependent on the data value present on the pair of
complementary sense lines). Some combinations of the logic
selection control signals can cause both the pass gates 307-1 and
307-2 and swap transistors 342 to be OPEN at the same time, which
shorts the pair of complementary sense lines 305-1 and 305-2
together. According to a number of embodiments of the present
disclosure, the logical operations which can be implemented by the
sensing circuitry illustrated in FIG. 3 can be the logical
operations summarized in the logic tables shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 4 is a logic table illustrating selectable logic operation
results implemented using the circuitry shown in FIG. 3 in
accordance with a number of embodiments of the present disclosure.
The four logic selection control signals (e.g., TF, TT, FT, and
FF), in conjunction with a particular data value present on the
complementary sense lines, can be used to select one of plural
logical operations to implement involving the starting data values
stored in the sense amplifier 306 and compute component 331. The
four control signals, in conjunction with a particular data value
present on the complementary sense lines, controls the continuity
of the pass gates 307-1 and 307-2 and swap transistors 342, which
in turn affects the data value in the compute component 331 and/or
sense amplifier 306 before/after firing. The capability to
selectably control continuity of the swap transistors 342
facilitates implementing logical operations involving inverse data
values (e.g., inverse operands and/or inverse result), among
others.
Logic Table 4-1 illustrated in FIG. 4 shows the starting data value
stored in the compute component 331 shown in column A at 444, and
the starting data value stored in the sense amplifier 306 shown in
column B at 445. The other 3 column headings in Logic Table 4-1
refer to the continuity of the pass gates 307-1 and 307-2, and the
swap transistors 342, which can respectively be controlled to be
OPEN or CLOSED depending on the state of the four logic selection
control signals (e.g., TF, TT, FT, and FF), in conjunction with a
particular data value present on the pair of complementary sense
lines 305-1 and 305-2. The "Not Open" column corresponds to the
pass gates 307-1 and 307-2 and the swap transistors 342 both being
in a non-conducting condition, the "Open True" corresponds to the
pass gates 307-1 and 307-2 being in a conducting condition, and the
"Open Invert" corresponds to the swap transistors 342 being in a
conducting condition. The configuration corresponding to the pass
gates 307-1 and 307-2 and the swap transistors 342 both being in a
conducting condition is not reflected in Logic Table 4-1 since this
results in the sense lines being shorted together.
Via selective control of the continuity of the pass gates 307-1 and
307-2 and the swap transistors 342, each of the three columns of
the upper portion of Logic Table 4-1 can be combined with each of
the three columns of the lower portion of Logic Table 4-1 to
provide 3.times.3=9 different result combinations, corresponding to
nine different logical operations, as indicated by the various
connecting paths shown at 475. The nine different selectable
logical operations that can be implemented by the sensing circuitry
(e.g., 150 in FIG. 1) are summarized in Logic Table 4-2 illustrated
in FIG. 4, including an XOR logical operation.
The columns of Logic Table 4-2 illustrated in FIG. 4 show a heading
480 that includes the state of logic selection control signals. For
example, the state of a first logic selection control signal is
provided in row 476, the state of a second logic selection control
signal is provided in row 477, the state of a third logic selection
control signal is provided in row 478, and the state of a fourth
logic selection control signal is provided in row 479. The
particular logical operation corresponding to the results is
summarized in row 447.
While example embodiments including various combinations and
configurations of sensing circuitry, sense amplifiers, compute
component, dynamic latches, isolation devices, and/or shift
circuitry have been illustrated and described herein, embodiments
of the present disclosure are not limited to those combinations
explicitly recited herein. Other combinations and configurations of
the sensing circuitry, sense amplifiers, compute component, dynamic
latches, isolation devices, and/or shift circuitry disclosed herein
are expressly included within the scope of this disclosure.
Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described
herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that an
arrangement calculated to achieve the same results can be
substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is
intended to cover adaptations or variations of one or more
embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that
the above description has been made in an illustrative fashion, and
not a restrictive one. Combination of the above embodiments, and
other embodiments not specifically described herein will be
apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above
description. The scope of the one or more embodiments of the
present disclosure includes other applications in which the above
structures and methods are used. Therefore, the scope of one or
more embodiments of the present disclosure should be determined
with reference to the appended claims, along with the full range of
equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
In the foregoing Detailed Description, some features are grouped
together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the
disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as
reflecting an intention that the disclosed embodiments of the
present disclosure have to use more features than are expressly
recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect,
inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single
disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby
incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim
standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
* * * * *
References